THE SAVIOR AND THE CHOCOBO
by unknownimouz15
Summary: It was another peaceful day for Lucis, or maybe not to the little Prince anymore. Noctis slowly fluttered his eyes open and he felt utterly confused at his surroundings. Everything around him is gigantic. He can't recognize where he is anymore.


**This is my very first story. So please bare with it. And I would like to know how you find this story by leaving a review, once you're done reading this. ^^**

**I would like to thank, Burning-Phoenix-X-7 for correcting/editing this story. ^^ It means a lot!**

**Anyway hope you fellow lightis enjoy this!**

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><p><em><strong>THE SAVIOR AND THE CHOCOBO<strong>_

At the grand dining of the Lucis Kingdom sat the Royal Family of Caelum's: King Regis and his only son and the last heir of the Kingdom, Prince Noctis. The family were having their dinner, when Regis noticed his 10 year old son, wearing a long face. This bothered Regis as he occasionally took a sip of his soup, while he glanced at his son. And he found that Noctis had stopped touching his food, his mouth pouted and brows furrowed.

"Why aren't you touching your food? Is something's bothering you?" Regis asked.

Noctis just pouted even more and heaved a sigh. "…It tastes awful."

Regis didn't expect something like that from his son. And he just understandingly gazed at his son. Maybe the soup tastes too old for him. "Is that so?" Regis said. "Hmm… So do you want me to send the cook away?"

Noctis looks at his father, finally, with a pitiful look on his eyes and add up the pout of his lips, making Regis' heart sank in compassion for his son. And Noctis just sat there staring at his father with those puppy eyes, and he watched his father took a sip on his soup. After receiving the soup in his mouth, Regis made a face of satisfaction, closing his eyes, as if the food tastes so great, but not long after, his face changed into a disgusted one. And he stuck out his tongue, making a '_bleh_' sound, which turned green because of the soup. Then he smiled to his son. Little Noctis heartily giggled at what his father did, and this make Noctis began to take a sip of his soup also, but he really can't help it. It really tastes awful!

Chocolina, the cook of Lucis Kingdom have heard that little Noctis didn't like what she served. It's even one of her favourite food and specialties, since the Caelum's have a special place in her heart, she decided to make them one of her favorites, the Gysahl Green Soup. But it ended up that little Noctis find it awful. And this did break her heart.

"I can't accept that my cooking will be bad mouthed! Gysahl Green Soup never tasted awful! It's one of the best soups in the world!" Chocolina told herself, grudgingly.

Little did the Caelum's know that Chocolina was granted by the Goddess Etro a power in cooking, and one of the reasons she's the best chef in the world! And that also means that Chocolina has a skill in magic and curses.

A very dark thought came into the chef's mind, and in the middle of the night, where everyone in the kingdom is having either their sweetest dreams or worst nightmares, Chocolina crawled into the little Prince's room , she look sideways, and pushes the door, so gently and quietly. She tiptoed towards the little sleeping prince's bed. Smile crossed her lips as she found him there, sleeping peacefully. Then she started her dark plan and chanted some curse at the peacefully sleeping Prince.

The next day in the morning, it was another peaceful day for Lucis, or maybe not to the little Prince anymore. Noctis slowly fluttered his eyes open and he felt utterly confused at his surroundings. Everything around him is gigantic. He can't recognize where he is anymore. He tried to pinch himself, but as he was about to raise his hand, it was gone. Instead he found black feathers, more like wings. He shrieked and tumbled down, but instead of a human cry, he heard a bird's cry. He started to feel scared. He tried to whimper again but instead he just made this little '_kweh_' sound. _NO!_ He thought, very scared.

Then he dared to look down his body, but he found more black little feathers. He tried to move his wing and touched the little abdomen. He tried to walk, but instead he skips. And he skipped faster. '_No, I'm just dreaming! This can't be-_' he thought. Then he soon realized that he's standing on his large bed which became a hundred times larger because of his state right now. Then he started to chirp, and whimper, crying out a bird's cry. ''Kweeeh! Kweeeh!'

He ran more until he reached the end, but he accidentally fell. 'Kwweeehhhh!' he closes his eyes, but he felt a gush of wind around him and he didn't feel a hard surface waiting for him. He opened an eye and then another other one. He found his little wings spread, and he was actually going down, slowly and gently onto the ground.

As he reached the black marble floor, he almost flinched at how huge everything was. He felt more scared and adrenaline rushed through him that he ran, and flew and ran all the way out of the kingdom. '_Dad mustn't see me like this._' Is all he thought of while he ran out, crying.

Regis went to look around for his son, the whole day, a week, a month and a year. And Chocolina have also vanished after his son disappeared also, and was never seen again.

But the search for his son didn't stop until five years. Regis felt very disheartened and he started to become ill. And it even caused him, his death. But the little prince was never seen.

Noctis, after almost ten years, accepted his fate. He became a chocobo, and a huge one at that. After he fled from Lucis he became lost in the woods. He almost lost his sanity, coping up with the surroundings, accepting his current state as a chocobo. It was very hard for him at first, since he was so little that time, to manage and be an animal. Especially how he have to eat Gysahl Greens, knowing how he hated the taste of it. He could still remember how awful the Gysahl Green soup tasted. But as he forcefully ate Gysahl Greens on his chocobo state, he didn't expected how good it tasted. And Gysahl Green is one of his favourites now. But he still didn't know why and how he ended up turning into a chocobo. He used to hide from the wild creatures and used to run along the other chocobos, but the chocobos hated him, maybe they felt he was too different from them. After he accepted himself, he went back to Lucis just to check on his father, but he just hid. And he knew that his father was looking for him, and his heart felt light when he knew that Regis never gave up looking for him. But he cannot afford to just appear before his father. Not on this state. So all he could say was '_Sorry Father, for not being with you, and for being a failure._'

Then after he learned that Regis has passed away and it's all because of him, he felt so broken, and was willing to die. He became thin and became tired of his life for another ten years, he was growing bigger.

But on his years of being a sad and depressed chocobo there was a good chocobo who took care of him, which he used to call as 'kweh' since that's all he could say. That chocobo always reminded of his father, Regis. He missed his father every day; there wasn't a second that he didn't remember or think Regis. That chocobo taught him so much about the life of a bird. He taught him how to fight, to hunt to defend himself, all in all, to survive. And Noctis had forgotten what it felt like to be human. And there was a day he thought, what if Regis is the one beside him now, teaching him how to live and not this chocobo who he learned to treat as his father. He learned so much from him. But one day, that chocobo died right in front of him, after he saves him from a pack of silver lobos. His death gave him a reason to continue living. He will not give up for those two important beings who sacrificed themselves for him. He continued living as a chocobo and grew stronger. Hunters wanted him, and even tried to tame him, but he was not easily tamed. He had great sense of his surroundings, he knew if there was danger or not. He became a legendary chocobo, now living for a thousand years. And he didn't know why he seemed stopped aging and not die, while every chocobo he met already died. And he would meet new herds of chocobos and another and another , while at the same time, they died after several years, and a new group of chocobo would be born, get old and died , but he was still here, and all alone. No chocobo wanted to be with him anymore except his father chocobo who had passed a thousand years ago. But he was used to it. He has fought several monsters, becoming even much stronger. And he didn't have time to think on how he's still living until that current time.

Lucis Kingdom became an isolated place and very chaotic as Idola stole the Kingdom of Lucis after Regis died, claiming to be the new King. But all he did was to use his advantage to all the citizens of Lucis, but Lucis never prospered in his reign, and it continued to lose its colors and became a deserted place like it had never been a kingdom at all, especially after Idola reached his end. No one was left in the kingdom. It had become completely isolated and desolate.

Many years have passed, and then l'Cie and fal'Cie started to emerge, along with their Focuses. Airships and highways, and modern, futuristic buildings appeared. But after hundreds and more countless years, Chaos started to envelop the world and time has stopped.

But his curiosity was piqued when Chaos surrounded the world and people and all the living creatures have stopped aging. Even some of his fellow chocobos, and especially the baby ones didn't grow old anymore. How sad. It's already 500 years since Chaos surrounded the place. So if the chocobo have stopped aging because of the Chaos, why is he not aging also? And it's not because of the Chaos, he was sure of it.

He was relaxing himself down the wild grasses of the Wildlands, when something attacked him out of nowhere. The Chocobo Eater! He cried in pain and has finally got himself away from its grasp. He fought the Chocobo Eater. But the enemy caught him off guard, and it was strong. That he got a hard time finishing it off, until death started to greet him slowly. All he could do is to just lie there and whimper weakly. The Chocobo Eater slowly crawled towards him, and had been weakened as well. The Chocobo smiled to himself, at least in the last minute of his life, he have made it weak but it continue to crawl towards him. He's ready to meet his end, since he got more than enough years of living. He has learned a lot from the life of a chocobo. And he started to love what he is now. He slowly closes his eyes, and his breathings are weak, when he heard footsteps coming on his direction. Hunter surely, he didn't care anymore. Let the Hunter and the Chocobo Eater take his life now. He really didn't care. Then the footsteps got stronger until it stops. He's aware that it's standing not far from where he is now or maybe a hunter was here now, ready to slay the Chocobo Eater and take him. Then a sound of metal rang his ears. And someone spoke. It's been long since he heard a voice of a woman. _'A woman? ' _He tried to open his eyes, but he could not. He was too weak maybe it was a blessing that he have heard a voice of a woman, in his last day, since he used to hear the rough voices of the hunters, trying to chase him.

"Leave him alone…." And the voice faded from his ears.

"Amazing, you actually found the legendary chocobo!" Dr. Gysahl's voice was full of gladness, finally seeing the black Legendary Chocobo. But it soon changed to sadness as he saw the chocobo's poor state. "Is he still alive, Savior?"

"I can say, yes. Can you cure him?" the Savior, dressed in a Valkyrie's armour said. She was called a Savior after Bhunivelze made a trade with her. Her duty was to save souls, many as she could and bring it to the new world, in exchange of the life of her sister and only family left, Serah. She called herself Lightning because of her tragic childhood, but everything about her past was only a blur now. She has sacrificed a lot, especially her own life. Since she was fifteen years old, she has given her life to her sister Serah, she have to be matured and act as an old sister and a parent to Serah, after she promised to her beloved parents. But she failed to take care of Serah until now, and her sister's life was at risk. So she was willing to do anything just for her to bring her back and fulfil her promise to their parents and to herself, for becoming a responsible sister.

Dr. Gysahl came back after almost an hour. Lightning leaned off the tree trunk she had been leaning on and faced Dr. Gysahl. "How was he?"

"He's fine now. The chocobo sure is a strong one. No wonder he became a Legendary one. Rumor has it that he's been living a thousand years now. No one can say where he originally came from. And he's the only chocobo that's colored black."

Lightning just hummed in response. And Dr. Gysahl continued. "Though, the creature won't accept the medicine I'm giving him. Only the Savior could do it. The chocobo won't want to accept any of the food we give."

"Oh, let's see if I'm gonna able to give some to him." Then they made their way to the chocobo, who's now well, but can't still be able to stand. Dr. Gysahl handed Lightning some Gysahl Greens. The town's people decided to leave the chocobo and his Savior for a while.

Lightning stared sympathetically at the Chocobo, it looked pathetic and she felt the need to take care of it. She didn't know but the chocobo has touched her heart, like she had been the lost owner all along. She slowly approached the large bird.

"Here little one, eat this so you'll feel better." She gently touches its surprisingly soft black feathers. And she just stared into its eyes. The chocobo was truly wild. His eyes were the color of crystalline blue. His feathers look wild too. And his appearance makes him unique. She approached it again, handing the food to him. The chocobo raised its long neck, staring at her as well. And it let out a whimper. "Kweeehh!"

Lightning was utterly mesmerized and stunned by it. She adored it at once. But she's still hesitant to approach it, hoping to tame it at once. But surprisingly, the chocobo lowered its head down on her hand and his beak reached for the Gysahl Green on her hand, and ate it all up. She smiled, gently and felt glad how the chocobo obeyed her. Then after that day, she went to look for some fertilizers and planted Gysahl Greens on Sarala's backyard. And after two days, the chocobo began to show progress. It could finally stand on its own, though he still had bandage around him.

But the chocobo has been a great help to her, even though he still had bandage on his body, he could carry her already, since he really was a huge one. She and the chocobo have made a good connection to each other. They became closer each day. The citizens of Wildlands were amazed by how Lightning has tamed the chocobo easily. And they seemed to be very good friends.

As for Noctis, since he learned that this woman has saved his life and never took advantage of his state, he felt surprisingly comfortable with her at once. She also made him remember his father and his father-chocobo who had sacrificed their lives just to save him. And this woman did the same; she sure almost lost her life battling the bastard Chocobo Eater for his sake, and even worked hard to help him recover. She fully gained his trust that she was not here to use him for her own good, but to save his life. She didn't leave his side until he was completely cured and well, and the bandages were removed from his body, finally. And since that day, he decided to stay by her side.

This woman has impressed him by how she battled those wild creatures and save others as well. And he started to be curious about her. _'What is she? Why is she doing this? She helps people and every being that is in danger without thinking about herself.'_

And on their journey together she would talk to him, ask him if he was okay. And then bring him to the backyard to harvest the Gysahl Greens she planted and feed him. And that's his most favourite part. And after she feeds him, he would feel playful with her. He used to nudge his head down at her and let out a soft '_kweh_' of thanks for feeding him. How he loved her. And it had been a long time since he last saw a female human being. All he saw were female chocobos with their chicks, and family. He sometimes wondered how it felt to have a mother. But with this woman in front of him, she's became his first female friend and companion. He did not know but he was having some new instinct—or were they feelings—he had just been experiencing. He felt some kind of burning on his feathery cheeks. And this thought even came in his mind. '_There's nothing wrong between a chocobo and human bond, right?_' But it seems there was more to it than that. '_I must know her name._'

One night after his journey with this human, she went beside him to rest. The chocobo went to nudge his head to her gently and let out a gentle '_Kweh!' _This gesture of his makes her smile, and she went to caress the bird's soft feathers.

"You don't mind me resting here beside you, right?" Lightning asked her companion.

"Kweh!"

She chuckled and just leaned on the warm body of the chocobo. The chocobo laid his head on her lap and stared at her. More like gazing at her features, and all the chocobo could think of was, _'Beautiful.'_ So he didn't take any second chances and went to ask for her name. But all he could make was: 'Kweh! kweeeh! Kweh!'

This caused Lightning to open her eyes and found how close their faces were. "Hey, is something bothering you?" The chocobo just tilted his head to the side and just leaned back down, sadly on her lap.

"You want to hear a story?" Lightning went to caress his head gently and this made the chocobo feel relaxed. And he's willing to listen to her story. "My true name was Claire, but I changed my name to Lightning, because I thought changing my name would change who I was. But now I'm a Savior, I have the power to save others. At first I was only doing this for Serah, but I found how many lives needs my help, so I'm also doing this for everyone. Serah is my sister and my only family left. My parents have died since I was young. It's hard for me, you know? I felt like I was abandoned. I felt alone. But with Serah, she always tries to make me feel alive, to still continue to live. And until now, even if I'm not sure if she'll ever come back to me. All I have to do is to believe that after doing my main focus here, I'll be able to have her back. I promised to keep myself alive for her…" and Lightning continued to tell her story to the legendary chocobo. And the chocobo just listened.

And he thought '_So she calls herself Lightning._' And he could relate to her story. Her pain and her loneliness and that need to be strong.

And then after several minutes, Lightning spoke to someone, the chocobo wonders who she is talking to; she used to touch her ear in order to speak with that someone. After a while she said, "Let's go, we need to go to Poltae." The chocobo, stood at once and she mounted his back. They continue on their journey.

As they reached Poltae, Lightning went to bid him farewell for now. And he obediently nodded and went to patiently wait for her and wishing and praying hard for her safety.

But it seemed to be taking her too long, he didn't know how many hours have passed or if an hour has already passed but he still went to wait for her patiently. But as he waited for her, a group of large silver Lobos appeared In front of him ready to pounce at him anytime. He took his fighting stance, and started to fight the silver lobos. He felt strong but a lobo have jumped to his chest and bit it and some glowing red light burst out from his chest, causing for the lobo to back away and leave him all alone. But what is that light? He felt weak all of a sudden. He saw a small, red gem fall from his chest but he could not move, and he fell onto the rough ground, helplessly. Then her panicked voice rang in his ears.

"NO!" Lightning found the chocobo in a bloody state.

She at once ran to him. She had just returned from defeating Caius. But she could not accept seeing the state of her chocobo. He could barely move, and just whimpered. She went to gently touch the wound on his chest and chanted a healing spell, and his wounds have healed, she smiled in relief but she noticed that the chocobo was not moving yet. She panicked even more and embraced the chocobo, his body was starting to grow cold. The chocobo had become part of her now. A friend, someone who was like family. The chocobo did so much for her and she had come to love him now. He just listened without complaining. She could lose him now. She would miss him, and she would be alone. She will miss how he nudged her head and cry out a sweet 'kweh' to her, a melody to her ears. She would truly miss him. However she did not notice that tears inevitably fell from her eyes.

"Please wake up. I still have something to tell you. I defeated Caius."

Hope spoke through the communicator in her ear. "What happened to him? Is he okay?"

"I-I don't know…" she looked at the chocobo. "Please don't die. I need you." She embraced him again, burying her face on his feathers.

A bright light, suddenly, emerged from the chocobo, causing Lightning to back away slightly. But the light continued to get brighter. Lightning lifted an arm and shielded her eyes from the bright light. And after several seconds, it finally stopped.

She hesitantly looks and instead she found not a chocobo, but a man with spiky black hair and black clothes lying unconscious on the ground where the chocobo supposed to be. Her eyes widened and slowly approached the stranger. She hesitantly held his wrist and his skin was surprisingly cold, like a corpse. She felt alarmed. She had to do something. Then a glint of red caught her eyes. And she found a small red gem beside him. She took it and it surprisingly holds a great power. She could not even contain it, that she accidentally lost her hold from it and it fell into the man's chest. The red light shone on his chest and it faded. Lightning stayed still, ignoring Hope's question of what was happening. She felt her breathing stop as she saw the stranger's hand move. He slowly opened his eyes and he let out a low groan. She went a little closer.

"Are you alright?"

The stranger tilts his head to her, and she found his eyes glint. And he sat up at once. His lips parted, forming a small smile.

"Kwe—" came the surprising deep voice of the stranger. Lightning's brows furrowed in confusion.

"A-are you okay?"

The guy smiled more and looked at his hands. His human hands! He went to touch his whole body. And he stood upright, and laughed happily. "Ha! Ha! Ha! I—" He went to look at Lightning and grinned. He ran at her and swooped her into his arms, and spun her around. And this surprised Lightning. "Hey-" He finally set her down.

He hesitantly speaks, "H-Hi. Woah! I-it's.."

Lightning started to be more confused. "Who are you?"

The man looks back at her. "I'm the chocobo. The legendary chocobo! …Woah, I can't believe I still know how to speak. " He glances down at himself and went to cup his hands on her face. "You saved me, Lightning!" And how he realized that he loves her, his heart still beats for her. She makes him feel alive. In those thousands of years he lived, he never felt anything like this before. So when he was still a chocobo, he was actually falling for her. How funny, was that? So that's what he felt. Love. He felt excited, relaxed and complete whenever he sees her. He adored her whole being. Everything about her. He liked watching her, when she's talking to people, when she took care of him. When she caresses his feathers, ask him if he was feeling well... Everything.

Lightning was still trying to calculate everything that had happened. _'It can't be that the chocobo was once a human.'_

"You're a human?" she said.

"Yes. My name is Noctis Lucis Caelum. I'm- _Was_ a prince, and the last heir of a Kingdom that had once been, a thousand years ago."

Hope spoke from the opposite line. "Lightning, you seem to have found your long lost soul mate."

Lightning flushed and retorted at Hope who sounded like he was grinning on the other side. Only after did she realize her and Noctis' faces were even close. And she admitted that the chocobo did have good looks.

"Nice meeting you, Noctis." She gently smiled.

Noctis asked what he had wanted to so badly even while he was still a chocobo.

"Can I kiss you?"

Lightning flushed more. And she at once faces her back at him. Hope began teasing her again.

"Now's not the right time, Noctis." She then turned back at him and found he had moved closer to her.

"Just once, please." Noctis pleaded. He just wants to feel that sense of belonging he has lost after all those years. When Lightning did not say anything, or protest, he leaned in to capture her lips. Lightning pulled the communicator out of her ear. Hope will have to remain speaking to nothing for a while.

In that moment, they both felt like they belong.

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><p><strong><span>Author's note:<span> The red gem is like his life source and once it's removed it's his end, and it's also the reason why he's not getting old. But once the gem was removed [let's supposed his age stops at 23 on this story], he will lie unconscious like sleeping and his body will start to age/decay/get old that time. And he could also die when killed.**

**Anyway this is my very first story. So I apologize if it's kinda confusing to you.**

**And reviews are greatly appreciated. Thankyou! ^^**


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